Xarrama Voices
A Living Archive of Storytelling and Sharing: For the river that runs through us
Organization: Rita Neves (via Foundation DaST)
Coordination: Maria Ilhéu | uevora.pt/mariailheu
Partnership & Protocol: Universidade de Évora | uevora.pt
Collaboration: MED (Instituto Mediterrâneo para a Agricultura, Ambiente e Desenvolvimento) | med.uevora.pt/
Foundation DaST (representative): Carlos Bragança
Photography & Videography: Lucas Alarion Veyra (via Foundation DaST) | creativedigital.design
Some rivers flow beside us. And some flow within us. The Xarrama is both.
On 21 November 2025, the community of Torrão was invited to gather at Convento da Terra to share memories, stories, reflections and gestures connected to the Xarrama River, a line of water that has shaped the village’s landscape, nourished its edges, and now calls us to take responsibility for what was once plentiful.
This was more than a gathering. It marked the beginning of a living archive, a collective act of remembering and care, where voices and memories become part of a shared commitment to regeneration. Organised by Foundation DaST through Convento da Terra, this initiative is part of an ongoing journey to honour, study and protect the natural and cultural ecosystems that shape this place.
The Xarrama is a silent witness to generations. It runs through the history of the village and the lives of its people. It is a source, a boundary and a mirror. Often invisible to the urban eye, its water remains essential to those who work the land, who observe, who live alongside it.
To protect a river is to protect an entire way of life. It means caring for the landscape, the biodiversity, the agricultural rhythms, the relationships and ancestral knowledge that flow with water. It means ensuring that life keeps moving, even when the current slows.
Foundation DaST is building, with the support of universities, national institutions and the local community, a growing body of knowledge and action dedicated to preserving the Xarrama River. This includes formal protocols, environmental research, mapping, and most importantly, listening to those who live with the river.
